Undergraduate

At UVic, every student is immersed in dynamic learning that's fueled by research-inspired insights and hands-on experiences.

Physics makes the world go 'round...(or at least explains the process)!

Gravity, Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, the Uncertainty Principle, the sub-atomic building blocks of matter, the large scale structure of the universe, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics....

What do these have in common? They are all part of the intellectual heritage of physics and astronomy, the disciplines that enable us to understand the world, from the invisible particles that make up the matter around us, through our sensory experiences, to the unimaginably vast reaches of the universe. The accumulated knowledge is broad and deep, but the search for understanding continues. Who knows what revolutionary ideas lie ahead?

Make a short list of the names of the most famous scientists you can think of. Chances are most of the people on your list will be physicists! Physics underlies the technology that has become an integral part of human evolution. But it also informs our philosophy. To cite two examples: we no longer believe the earth is the center of the universe, and we know that certain types of knowledge about our world are impossible, even in principle (from the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle). Now if you'd like to know what that really means... you should study physics!